


Road Trip

by orphan_account



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Crushes, Cute, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lots of movie references, M/M, OKAY so this is for fun to distract from school dfgj, Possible smut, Road Trips, also if you wanna say something about it please comment!! i love reading them, because thats one of the way harry shows emotion, but i will be updating it when I have time (so probably weekends or three in the morning), we'll just have to see ;), yeah it's dumb but cute i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-16 05:08:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16947588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Harry and Cisco split from the team for a road trip in search of a mysterious meta. As they spend hours and hours together with nothing but conversation, they soon learn a lot about each other. As they drive around the state, their crushes develop into something more.





	1. Chapter 1

Team Flash stood in the Cortex, unmoving while they all pondered on the turn of events. One meta was enough of a handful but two metas in cohorts with each other? That’s a little harder.

 “We can deal with Undertaker and the rest of you can deal with Dracula,” Cisco said, “I don’t see why Barry wouldn’t be able to handle him. He’s sort of just an old man that wants to take over the human race and turn them into mindless blood-sucking vampires.”

“Did you already name them?!” Caitlin asked.

“Vampires aren’t something we’ve dealt with before, Cisco,” Barry replied before Cisco could say anything, “I still think you should stay here to help us out. Both of you.”

Dracula wasn’t someone who seemed too difficult to handle, especially not after Reverse-Flash, Zoom, and others Cisco would rather not think about. From what they’d seen, he wanted people to be afraid while he sucked their blood and created his own vampire army. Well, that wasn’t ideal but it wasn’t anything that would bring them down. The Undertaker, on the other hand, was more of mystery.

“He’s not a vampire in the traditional sense,” Cisco retorted, “plus Undertaker can allegedly raise the dead. He’s also obviously in charge of what’s going on with their plan.”

“Then why shouldn’t we come with you to stop Undertaker?” Caitlin asked, hands on hips and eyebrows furrowed.

“He may be the puppet-master,” Harry finally spoke, his raspy voice even deeper as he mumbled into his coffee cup, “but  _Dracula_  is the one acting on Central City. You’ll have to take him out.”

“Exactly,” Cisco glared at Harry over his unimpressed attitude towards Cisco’s nickname, “right now we don’t know anything about Undertaker. Harry and I can get there and we’ll just check it out, collect some information, you know, Nancy Drew.”

Though Harry hadn’t actually agreed to come along, he hadn’t yet objected so it was safe to assume he was on the same page. Barry and Caitlin both made a face as they thought about Cisco’s proposition. They couldn’t deny that it would be a more efficient plan of action—plus, Cisco could always just make a breach right back.  

“Fine, I think it’s a good idea,” Caitlin spoke first. Barry sighed and nodded reluctantly.

“Small problem,” Harry said, “we’ll have to figure out where he is first. In your vibe, you said all you saw was a castle.”

“Castle-like,” Cisco corrected. Harry rolled his eyes.

“ _Castle-like._ That’s not much to go on.”

“The spottings and the meetups narrow it down as well,” Caitlin added, “they were all in different places, but we know that it’s in the state.”

“How many castles are in the state?” Barry asked.

Considering their luck, it would have been surprising if there were only a few castles—but no, there were around 43. Searching all of them wasn’t an option since neither Cisco nor Harry was willing to go on a month long road trip.

“We know his face,” Harry reminded, “we can ask around. Who knows, if we get lucky, Ramon could have another vibe.”

Cisco tensed as he felt the older man place a hand gently on his shoulder, just briefly, before letting it drop. He cleared his throat.

“Yeah,” Cisco said steadily, “we’ll be able to narrow it down; don’t worry. You can still call both of us if you need help with anything.”

Since the plan was essentially together, Harry turned suddenly and began walking out of the Cortex. No goodbye, no good luck, just his usual strut in the direction of the workshop. The remaining three stared at him and then at each other. All rolling their eyes simultaneously, Barry and Caitlin broke off to try and find more pieces of information they could use to track Dracula. Cisco followed Harry, jogging to catch up.

“Hey,” Cisco said as he slowed beside the other man, “you seem strangely okay at the idea of a road trip with yours truly.”

Harry didn’t reply as they made their way through the dimly lit hallway. Only when they reached the workshop did he comment.

“Trust me, Ramon,” Harry flicked the lights on, “I don’t want to go out in public with this face and definitely not with you.”

“Understandable,” Cisco said as he flopped down onto the worn chair, “I wouldn’t want to be shot whenever someone recognized me. Wait—what’s wrong with me? I’m a delight to be around.”

Harry scoffed but didn’t say anything. The workshop had the comfortable mid-day quietness that Cisco liked. Despite the metas they were about to get  _very_  involved with, Cisco felt that there wasn’t much that was going to happen today. The chair squeaked as he swivelled left and right. Harry popped the lid off a marker and the squeaking of the marker on the board joined with the chair.

“Can you sit still for approximately three minutes?” Harry asked bitterly. Rather than stopping, Cisco turned and pushed off the ground to accelerate towards Harry, coming to a stop right beside him. He titled his head back to look up at the other man. Harry glared back down, moving his elbow as he wrote to get a better view. Cisco grinned.

“Dude, if you can’t handle this, how’re you gonna be when we’re stuck in a car for hours.” Cisco teased. As if it just hit him, Harry groaned.

“Why can’t you just breach there,” more of a complaint than a question, “we’d be in and out in no time.”

“Harry, I saw a dimly lit castle-like structure. I have no idea what to do with that. Plus breaches aren’t my strong suit as of now.”

Cisco was irritated, mostly with himself, that he hadn’t yet perfected how to sustain and create a breach whenever he needed to. His training was without a doubt making him stronger, especially with Harry’s help, but the nagging feeling that he’s known since forever that kept telling him he could be doing better was persistent. Sighing, Cisco tried to shake off the feeling by remembering how joyous it would be to annoy Harry with his music, sing-alongs, and mandatory snack stops. His thoughts appeared on his face and he smirked dreamily. A hard marker to the nose snapped him out of it as Harry purposefully dropped it.

“Whoops,” the older man said impassively. Cisco shot daggers but faltered when Harry shot him a smile. Turning away from the board and Cisco, Harry headed to the doorway.

“Where’re you going?” Cisco asked quickly as he rubbed his nose. Harry didn’t stop walking when he replied.

“Getting packed.”

\---

 

A drop of sweat rolled down Cisco’s eyebrow and he closed one eye to make sure it didn’t get in. He grunted in strain as the breach grew in size. When it wasn’t in the case of finding metas or life/death scenarios, Cisco found it hard to motivate himself to force a breach open. Right now, he regretted not asking Barry for a lift. Just at that moment, it felt like something clicked and Cisco surged open the breach. With a tired exhale, he stepped through. The familiar vibe of his unlit apartment was welcoming.

He turned the lights on for a second to get an idea as to where in the apartment he was and flicked them off again. Muscle memory carried him to the staircase and he climbed up slowly. Smacking into the edge of the wall only once when he finally reached his room. Not bothering to change, Cisco jumped onto the bed, a pleased smile involuntarily appearing on his face at the comfort of the blankets. It had been quite a long day. Long enough that despite wearing a t-shirt and jeans, belt and everything still on, Cisco fell to sleep in minutes. He thought about the upcoming road trip with Harry and wondered if the other man was sleeping.  _Probably not,_  Cisco thought,  _he might be a vampire…_

\---

 

“I’m already regretting this, Ramon,” Harry growled. Cisco hid a grin as he slid into the driver’s seat. Before turning the van on, Cisco checked for his bag and saw Harry’s backpack in the back seat as well. Cisco frowned.

“That’s all you’re bringing?”

“I just need clothes, sanitary items, and books to tune you out,” Harry said.

The car came to life as Cisco twisted the keys. He rolled down both their windows and Harry put his elbow up onto the frame. Despite it being eight in the morning, he still had his black baseball hat on. Without thinking, Cisco reached out and pushed the rim of the hat up gently with a finger. Harry jerked his head from out the window to glare at Cisco. The younger man pulled his hand back before Harry could rip off his finger. He looked less like a serial killer and more like an actual baseball player with his hat a little looser on is head. Of course, he couldn’t have that. Harry pulled his hat down and crossed his arms.

“Okay,” Cisco said, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road, “here we go.”

They remained in silence and Cisco felt an overwhelming urge to scream just to break it. He hated silent drives. When he was younger, going to his cousins’ birthday parties or dinners with his parents, the drives were always silent. If he spoke, a flurry of aggressive shushing came immediately after. Instead of saying anything, he cleared his throat. Harry turned his attention to him.

“What?” He asked tersely.

“Nothing, man,” Cisco replied, “you’ve been quiet, that’s all. If you wanna put on some music, be my guest. Actually, never mind, I’ll do it.”

Listening to Harry’s annoying 70’s Earth-2 songs (which he couldn’t jam to since he didn’t know them) wasn’t something Cisco was willing to put up with. They were on the highway currently so Cisco didn’t have any choice but to put the radio on. As soon as it turned on, pop music blared. Cisco tried not to laugh as Harry flinched, turning it down until it was just background noise. More silence ensued as Cisco switched lanes. Their first destination was a town just an hour out of Central City. Cisco didn’t even know there was a castle nearby.

“Wanna play a game?” Cisco asked and immediately Harry groaned.

“No, Ramon, I don’t.”

“Come on, it’s fun. You’ll like it.” He elbowed Harry’s shoulder.

“Fine,” he sighed, “what is it?”

“Okay! I say a movie or TV show and you have to say another that is objectively better than the previous. If I don’t agree, we argue.” Harry smirked and his boyish dimples appeared.

“Of course we argue,” he said, “also this seems a bit problematic since, you know,” Harry pointed at the two of them, “different Earths.”

“Can’t be that different,” Cisco said, “I’ll go first.  _Twilight_.”

Harry raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what you’re going with?”

“Harry, the point of this game is to take up time,” Cisco quipped, “now go.”

“ _Sharkboy and Lavagirl_ , Earth-1,” Harry said without missing a beat.

“Okay, hold up,” Cisco said, “we have a lot to unpack there.  _How_  is  _Sharkboy and Lavagirl_  better than literally anything and  _why_  have you seen it?”

“The acting is better; it actually holds your attention somewhat since it’s for kids and the scene changes every thirty seconds. Somehow, it had less cheesy lines that  _Twilight.”_

“Fine,” Cisco wanted the game to continue, “ _Pulp Fiction._ ”

“Hm,” Harry pouted and Cisco told himself it wasn’t somewhat adorable, “ _Reservoir Dogs._ ”

“ _Kill Bill Vol 1,”_ Cisco replied.

“ _Inglorious Basterds,”_

“ _Django Unchained,”_  Cisco said, seeing that Harry had a hint of a smile on his face. The wind from the open window of the backseats ruffled his hair. Cisco had closed their windows in case the arguments got intense and he needed to get a good point in.

“ _Reservoir Dogs,_ ” Harry responded, amusement clear in his voice. Cisco gave him an incredulous look.

“No way,” he said, “is  _ResDogs_  seriously your favourite Tarantino movie?!” Harry nodded and covered his mouth to refrain from laughing when Cisco let out an exasperated noise.

“Why—how? Why?” Cisco asked.

“I like Tim Roth and the  _Romeo & Juliet _undertones of the entire story,” Harry replied coolly, “and heists are always fun.”

“Should’ve said  _Oceans 11,_ then,” Cisco mumbled, “also what  _Romeo & Juliet _undertones?”

“Tragic lovers who both die at the end in each other's arms kind of thing,” Harry gestured vaguely, “their circumstances would never allow them to be together with Freddie being an undercover cop and Larry being a criminal who the younger man is tasked with bringing down.” Cisco listened, puzzled.

“I mean, yeah,” he replied slowly, “I never considered that aspect. Guess that’s why I found the movie kinda boring. Also, I never considered Mr Orange and Mr White as…lovers.”

“What, you think killing your heist-mates and refusing to believe them when they said Mr. Orange was a cop and still not running away or letting go of his dying figure when Freddie himself admits that he is indeed an undercover cop, but rather caressing him while crying and trying to make him comfortable before you kill him is just a case of ‘guys being dudes?’” Harry doesn’t take a breath through the entire spiel.

“Uh,” Cisco managed, “yeah—well, no—not anymore, I guess.”

The silence that emerges after it is something Cisco feels awkward in and something he  _knows_  Harry is enjoying too much.

“It’s still quite an interesting point of view,” Cisco said, “do you usually look for undertones of homoeroticism in the movies you watch?”

“When it comes to movies depicting circumstances relating to hypermasculinity, it’s not very hard to,” Harry replied without a second thought. Cisco felt out of place.

 “Uh, right,” was all Cisco could manage.

The topic itself wasn’t uncomfortable—quite the opposite, actually, as Cisco loved dissecting movies to the point where it could get annoying. The odd part was talking to  _Harry_  about such a topic. Homoeroticism of movies wasn’t really something he was planning to bring up but there they were. Cisco wondered if a straight man would even think about the underlying gay tones in hypermasculine films. Well, nothing better to do than try and find out.

“What the most unintentionally gay movie you’ve ever seen?” Cisco asked. Everyone on Team Flash except Cisco was straight so if Harry wasn’t…well, he didn’t really know what.

“ _Fight Club,”_ Harry said after a moment, “definitely.”

“Really? Not  _Top Gun?_ ”

Harry laughed. A genuine laugh. Not one of those bitter, sarcastic, or near-supervillain laughs. It was shocking enough that Cisco remembered he was on the highway only with a strong gust of wind hit them. Turning his attention to the road, Cisco hoped Harry didn’t see him gaping.

“Maybe,” Harry said, “shirtless volleyball and all that.” This time Cisco laughed.

They were a few minutes from the castle and Cisco already had a feeling this wasn’t the right place. As they pulled out from the highway, Cisco realized how long of a road trip this was actually going to be.  _Well,_  he thought,  _might as well make it a task to find out as much about Harry as I can_. He could have just asked, but where’s the fun in that.


	2. spooning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayyy its finally christmas break so i can pump these out lmao. enjoy!

            “Do you recognize this person?” Harry asked gruffly. Cisco tried not to let out a sigh at how much he sounded like a cop. The hotel they were in sat right beside the castle, which was closed that day and the owners didn’t seem too keen on sharing information. Cisco guessed it was because of Harry’s attitude and the general sketchiness of the place. A short lady with bleached blonde hair stood in front of them, arms crossed and a cigarette hanging from her lips. Everything about her manner conveyed distrust and annoyance. Her husband (Cisco presumed) leaned against the precarious stair railings, eyeing him and Harry nastily.  

            “You expect me to get something out of that photo?” She replied brusquely, the cigarette wobbling up and down.

            It wasn’t the best photo but it showed the meta’s face well-enough.

            “Yes,” Harry said through his teeth. Cisco could see he was about to lose it.

            “Okay,” Cisco interrupted cheerfully, “ma’am, listen, we don’t want to disturb you any longer than we have to and you clearly would rather be doing something else, so would you please just take a look at the photo and see if you remember anything?”

            He gave his best smile. After a moment, she huffed and took the cigarette out between overly manicured fingers.

            “I don’t know,” she said squinting at the photo, “a lot of weirdly dressed guys show up around here. I would say he looks familiar but that might not mean much.”

            Harry turned to the man and walked towards him. Without a word, he stuck the photo in his face, staring at him from above the frames of his glasses. The man, who was taller than Harry and built like a bull, glared right back before he looked at the photo. Something flashed in his eyes, a momentary expression that Harry didn’t know if he imagined or not. It was something of fear, caution, and guilt. _Interesting,_ Harry thought.

            “No, sorry,” he said stiffly, a southern accent creeping through, “I don’t recognize him.”

            Harry kept the photo up despite the fact the man wasn’t looking at it anymore. Cisco marvelled at how Harry didn’t break eye contact. Though he knew Harry knew how to fight, the man was intimidating, to say the least.

            “Hm,” Harry said, dropping his arm. He turned back to Cisco and the lady.

            “We’re going to stay here for the night,” he said, “Do you have any rooms to spare?”

            Cisco noticed the man tense up and look away. _Now that’s suspicious,_ he thought. Cisco hoped it was just because he didn’t want them to stay and nothing more complicated that they would have to deal with later. He didn’t particularly want to stay there. The place looked run down and dark with the ceiling littered in mysterious stains and the smell of dust. The frayed and dirty grey-green carpet covered the entirety of the floor and looked even more unsightly in the dimly lit room. All in all, very serial killer-y.

            “Of course,” the lady said as she put out the cigarette on the wobbly table which Cisco could only assume was a reception desk, “but we only have one room left. Single bed.”

            That was definitely a lie. The place was seedy and Cisco _knew_ it wasn’t bustling with people. He sighed. This was definitely Harry’s fault.

            “We’ll take it,” Cisco said before the older man could argue, “thanks.”

\---

            “Come on,” Cisco sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to imagine all the stuff on the sheets from previous visitors, “it’s one night. The castle will be open in the morning and we’ll snoop around tomorrow.’

            Harry leaned against the once white door, his backpack in one hand while the other played with something in his pocket. The room was lit slightly better than the lobby but still, it took some time for Cisco’s eyes to adjust to it. The bed was barely big enough for both of them to fit and an empty nightstand with lamp sat beside it. Some poorly made paintings hung crooked on the walls. Other than that, the room was empty.

            “Maybe not,” Harry said quietly, “I think the guy out there has something to do with this whole thing.”

            “Yeah, he looked kind of suspicious,” Cisco replied, “but it’s just a hunch.”

            “Are you up for snooping tonight?” Harry asked.

            “Not really,” Cisco yawned, “kind of wanted to sleep.”  Harry glared at him.

            “What’s there to snoop about, Harry? We can’t just kidnap and interrogate him for answers. Plus, do you really think he isn’t on edge if he knows we’re looking for Undertaker? He’ll expect us to snoop.”

            “Fine,” Harry said with a sigh, “we’ll go to the castle.”

            With a groan of relief, Cisco fell back on the bed. He could feel the dust float up from the impact. He peered down as Harry shuffled through his backpack, pulling a long blanket out.

            He laid the thin fabric on top of Cisco before the younger man could do anything. Cisco mumbled something from underneath it as he scrambled to get out. The air hit his face as the blanket fell and Cisco was welcomed by a smirking Harry.

            “What the hell is this?”

            “Don’t tell me you were actually going to sleep directly on the bed. That’s disgusting.”

            “I was going to ignore that,” Cisco grumbled, pulling the blanket up to his face. It smelled of Harry.

            “Wait,” his eyes widened, “you’re sleeping with me? I mean—not _with_ me but, like, beside me. On the same bed.”

            “There _is_ only one bed, Ramon,” Harry replied, “unless you want to sleep on the floor. Mind you, there are probably rats.”

            “Uh, no, I just didn’t think you’d want to share a bed. I gotta warn you, I’m quite…restless when I sleep.”

            “If you punch me in the face, I’ll punch back. Now fix the sheet.”

            It was eleven o’clock already and Cisco couldn’t stop thinking about how readily Harry was willing to share a bed. He thought it would go more in the direction of an argument and Harry kicking him onto the carpet. He wasn’t opposed to the idea of sleeping with—uh, _beside_ Harry but it still felt strange to share a bed with the other man.

            “Are you going to sleep in jeans?” Harry interrupted Cisco’s thoughts. He looked up to see Harry holding up some black clothes. He’d already removed his jacket and the sweater that he’d worn above his shirt. _So many unnecessary layers,_ Cisco thought. The same baggy jeans still hung loosely from his hips and a tight black shirt seemed to be the final layer.

            “I mean, I brought my PJs but I don’t feel like putting them on,” Cisco replied. That wasn’t exactly a lie. He didn’t feel like putting them on, yes, but mostly because he didn’t feel like going through the shady hallways of the hotel to the bathroom and he _definitely_ didn’t feel like changing in front of Harry. The older man just shrugged and that was the only warning Cisco got before he began to pull his shirt off above his head. Panic rose in Cisco as he fumbled to look away. Thankfully, Harry turned around to face away from him.

            After a few moments, Cisco looked back to see that the older man had changed into sweatpants but still didn’t have a shirt on. His back was toned and some old and new scars painted the pale skin. Cisco thought he recognized where a couple might have come from but the rest were a mystery. With Barry, who healed without a trace, being the usual person Cisco dealt with, he’d somewhat forgotten that others don’t come out without a scratch. Still, he wondered what a physicist and head of STAR Labs did to get those scars. While Cisco was somewhat mesmerized by the movement of Harry's muscles, the older man turned abruptly as the loose shirt fell down. Cisco caught a flash of his frustratingly toned abs as he looked away. He cleared his throat when Harry didn’t move.

            “Pick a side,” Cisco said as he swung his feet up, “either way you’re probably gonna get pushed off by unconscious me.”

            Harry rolled his eyes and turned off the ceiling light. He scooted Cisco over and lay on the bed. The blankets remained folded at the corner of the bed and both men had silently agreed they weren’t going to use them. Cisco watched as Harry plucked his glasses off and tossed them onto the nightstand with the carelessness of someone who has owned glasses for a long time. Cisco winced as they clattered to a stop.

            The room seemed to get eerily quiet when Harry turned off the lamp, pitch black replaced Cisco’s view of Harry. He heard the older man breathe and shuffle to get comfortable. Cisco turned to face away from Harry, bringing his knees up and hands to his chest. They were so close that when Cisco curved his back as he got into fetal position, he felt it brush against Harry’s. Tensing immediately, Cisco hoped Harry didn’t notice. _God damnit,_ Cisco thought, realizing he wasn’t going to get much sleep like this. He already felt incapable of getting comfortable on the stiff bed but sleeping this close to Harry was too…alarming.

            The night’s silence dug into Cisco as with every passing second, he became more and more restless. With a frustrated groan, he sat up, staring at nothing but darkness. Though his eyes had adjusted, he couldn’t make anything out. Cisco just sat there, taking deep, quiet breaths and hoping he would get tired enough to fall asleep.

            After a few minutes, he heard Harry grunt and fumble around for something. The lamplight tore through the darkness and Cisco squinted, turning to look at the older man.

            “What’re you doing?” Harry asked, annoyed. With his hair even messier than usual and blue eyes brighter without glasses, Cisco thought he looked adorable.

            “Uh, I can’t sleep,” Cisco replied simply.

            “Yeah, no shit, Ramon,” Harry grunted as he pushed himself up, “why not? You’re the one who wanted to sleep.”

_Sorry, I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking about how close you are to me._

            “I don’t _want_ to not sleep,” Cisco snapped back, “just…can’t. Why does it bother you? I’m just sitting here.”

            “That’s creepy, Ramon,” Harry spoke softly, “this place isn’t _that_ bad.”

            “Okay, Mr _Bates Motel_ , then _you_ go to sleep.”

            Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Grabbing his glasses, Harry turned to face the younger man. The sudden attention was jarring.

            “Is this because we’re sharing a bed?” Harry’s voice was strangely serious. Cisco’s eyes widened.

            “What? No—absolutely not! What makes you say that? I’m just not tired.”

            “Ramon, come on,” Harry said, “why are you so uncomfortable?”

            “You don’t think it’s…weird that we’re sleeping together? I mean—not _together_ but yeah.”

            “No, I don’t. You know why? Because I’m a grown man and not a teenage boy. So are you, Ramon, so act like one.”

            “Look, Harry,” Cisco said, dragging his legs off the bed, “I’ll just go wander around. You get some sleep.”

            Before he could stand up, Cisco felt a hand grab his arm. He froze and didn’t know what to do when Harry pulled him back down. His legs were still off the bed and when he landed on his back, all he saw was Harry looking down at him. Cisco tried to ignore the feeling of his head brushing up against Harry’s hip.

            “Uh,” was all Cisco could manage.

            “Stay,” Harry said quietly, “I’m not that tired either.”

            “So?” Cisco asked, confused.

            “ _So,_ ” the older man began, “let’s just…talk. Maybe we’ll tire each other out.”

            “What do you wanna talk about?” Cisco asked, pulling himself up to sit on the bed. He brought up his knees and wrapped his arms around them, resting his head to face Harry. The older man shrugged.

            “ _Bates Motel,_ ” Harry said, “how do you feel about that?”

“Well,” Cisco spoke slowly, “it’s well made but it gives me the heebie-jeebies. Not the whole murder thing but more the Norman-women thing.”

            “Can’t handle a little bit of thriller, Ramon?” Harry teased, running his hands through his hair. Cisco resisted the urge to reach out and touch it.

            “Of course I can,” he huffed, “I love _Black Mirror_. That’s as spooky as you can get.”

            “Ah, this Earth’s _Black Mirror_ falls a bit short on the spooky-scale, in my opinion.”

            “Are you kidding me? You have to show me your Earth’s episodes.”

            “I don’t think you’d be able to handle them, Ramon.”

            “Yeah, yeah,” Cisco rolled his eyes, “my turn. How’d you get all those scars?”

            Harry was evidently surprised but was able to regain his composure fairly quickly.

            “Were you checking me out, Ramon?” Harry asked, amusement clear in his voice. Cisco kept eye contact and hoped he wasn’t blushing.

            “Hey, you’re the one who changed in front of me,” Cisco replied, “I couldn’t help but see them. So, where from?”

            “I…” Harry glanced down, cautiously formulating a sentence, “was in the war.”

            “Huh,” Cisco said dumbly, “what war? Vietnam?”

            Harry rolled his eyes.

            “Not your Earth, Ramon,” he quieted again as he tried to think of what to say, “and I would rather…not talk about it. Think of it as homework to learn about the wars of my Earth one day. I’ve learned enough about yours.”

            That definitely wasn’t what Cisco was expecting. A war. Harry was clearly uncomfortable talking about it and Cisco knew to drop it. He shifted on the bed to shift his position to cross his legs.

            “Will do,” Cisco said, “anyway, it’s your turn. Ask a question.”

            “Okay,” Harry shrugged, “why are you uncomfortable at the idea of sharing a bed with me?”

            “Harry,” Cisco whined, “look, it’s not you—“ _it definitely is_ “—it’s just, I sleep better when I’m alone. I feel like I’m gonna end up kicking you off the bed or smacking you in the face.”

            That was definitely not true. _Who sleeps better alone?_ Cisco prayed Harry would drop it. How could he tell him that he couldn’t sleep because it felt mildly suffocating to be so close to him? Harry kept staring at Cisco and the younger man could feel his gaze even when he looked down.

            “Can I…hold you?” Cisco’s eyes shot up.

            “Huh?”

            “You might be able to sleep better,” Harry said. Cisco thought he saw him blushing but he didn’t know if he was hallucinating right now or not.

             “I don’t—I think,” Cisco fumbled over his words, trying to understand what exactly was happening, “I mean I don’t see how that would help—uh—me sleep.”

            “You’d probably kick less,” Harry replied stiffly and Cisco could see him getting more defensive, “and people tend to fall asleep better with someone else. Just an idea—if you don’t want to that’s fine.”

            “No—I mean, I do,” Cisco blurted out, “so what, are we spooning?”

            “Ramon,” Harry’s usual attitude came back, “just lay down.”

            As Cisco got comfortable, Harry got up and walked to his backpack, pulling another blanket out.

            “How did you fit everything in there?” Cisco asked as Harry sat back down.

            “Microtechnology.”

            “Really?”

            “No, Ramon,” Harry threw the blanket over them both, “I just don’t stuff useless snacks in it. Turn around.”

            As Harry took off his glasses and turned off the lamp, Cisco felt his heart speed up. _I can’t believe I agreed to this_ , he thought, turning to face away from Harry. Despite the darkness, Cisco’s eyes were wide open as he paid attention to Harry’s movement behind him. An arm wrapped gently around him and Cisco’s breath caught immediately. He closed his eyes and tried not to tremble as he felt Harry’s chest against his back. Cisco could feel Harry’s fingers on his stomach and he felt his own twitch.

            Exhaling shakily, Cisco squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his hands around Harry’s, snuggling closer into the other man. When Harry didn’t make any move to pull away, Cisco finally relaxed. He had to admit, the warmth and gentleness of the other man were strangely calming. Cisco didn’t imagine Harry as someone _gentle_ in any scenario but it was a pleasant surprise.

            At some point, Cisco didn’t know when as he lulled at the edge of sleep, Harry pulled him closer, holding him tighter. He didn’t mind.


End file.
